The Marine Corps' 237th birthday is Nov. 10, but on Wednesday, local Marines celebrated a few days early with a cake-cutting ceremony at the Marine Corps Support Facility New Orleans, 2000 Opelousas St. in Algiers.

Two battalions of Continental Marines were formed by Capt. Samuel Nicholas on Nov. 10, 1775, in Philadelphia. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of seven uniformed services of the United States.

The Marine Corps has served in every American armed conflict, and attained prominence in the 20th century when its theories and practices of amphibious warfare proved prescient and ultimately formed the cornerstone of the Pacific campaign of World War II. By the mid-20th century, the Marine Corps had become the dominant theorist and practitioner of amphibious warfare.

New Orleans has been home to a nationally significant Marine Corps Reserve headquarters command since the early 1970s.